Electrical connectors are known in the art which are meant to terminate multistranded insulated conductors, such as those used to transmit electrical power (e.g. battery cables) or communication signals (e.g. speaker wires). Persons skilled in this art, when designing such connectors, have several objectives or design criteria, some of which can come into conflict with others. These objectives include (a) ease of manufacture, (b) cost of manufacture, (c) tightness and permanence of connection, and (d) ease of assembly by the user.
The assignee of the present invention has provided several types of such electrical connectors. One type of connector employs a collar which grips the conductor, where the conductor is threaded through the collar and a cap. The collar and conductor are secured in place to a connector housing by the cap. Representative of this type of connector are the ones illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,704,814, 5,934,943 and 5,934,937, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/330,381 filed Jun. 11, 1999, all assigned to the assignee hereof, the specifications of which being fully incorporated by reference herein. Nonetheless, further improvements can be made in producing an electrical connector that better meet the above design criteria.